


Tom's Escape (chapter 1.5)

by Anifan1



Series: Escape [1]
Category: Animorphs (TV), Animorphs - Katherine A. Applegate
Genre: Andalite Bandits, Animorphs - Freeform, Brotherly Love, Comfort, Family, First Battle, Fluff, Freedom, Gen, Hugs, Hurt, Infestation, Involuntary Controllers, Yeerk Pool, Yeerks
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-24
Updated: 2020-09-24
Packaged: 2021-03-07 22:54:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,669
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26625505
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Anifan1/pseuds/Anifan1
Summary: After Tom is freed from the Yeerk Pool during the first battle, he reflects on what's about to happen next. And how his kid brother is supposed to lead a child army to defend the planet against alien invaders.
Relationships: Jake Berenson/Cassie (Animorphs)
Series: Escape [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1936960
Comments: 3
Kudos: 8





	Tom's Escape (chapter 1.5)

My name is Tom and my kid brother had just freed me from the Yeerks.

He also wrecked one of the family cars, nearly getting himself killed, to fake my death and keep me safe from actually getting killed or, worse, infested again.

I'd never loved my kid brother more.

Of course, I was also really scared for him.

He was a kid. Barely thirteen years old. He was in junior high, for crying out loud. Now, suddenly, he and his friends were going to fight this army of parasitic aliens who were intent on enslaving our planet?

It was, as his best friend Marco aptly put it, insane.

"It's just until the Andalites return," Jake explained, only for the third time that evening. "We only need to hold out until then."

We were sitting on the oversized couch with several attachable cushions in the basement. My new room. No, not just my new room. My new home, since once the news would get out tomorrow, I would officially be "dead", and so, unable to go outside.

Or use the rest of the house, except the bathroom, and only super carefully. The basement didn't have one, and no one wanted me to go months without showering.

Plus, you know, using a toilet.

"Midget? That's really not much better," I chided, putting a hand around Jake's shoulder. "Honestly. You'd think he could have chosen adults, at least."

"He was dying, Tom," Jake objected, leaning against me.

Hiding a yawn.

I turned and looked at him, really looked at him. It was easy to see that Jake was flat out exhausted, probably from the battle and morphing a few times over the course of the last five hours. Not to mention the stress of having to wreck the car and trying to escape without killing himself. If Mom and Dad didn't let him skip school tomorrow, they were heartless.

Still, there was more than exhaustion on his face. I could definitely detect some fear. Of what was coming. Still, when he looked at me, I could detect some sense of pride. Determination, too.

Jake knew that what the Yeerks did was evil, but he had no idea what it was like. To be a Controller. Completely helpless in your mind. A slave to the evil slug, barely six inches long, stretched out in your head.

Gloating the whole time.

At least, that had been my experience.

Had been.

I was free, now. Jake was fighting a war to keep humanity free from aliens...and I'd been the first one he'd saved.

Only one, so far, but he'd only fought his first battle.

Five months ago, I would have thought you were actually crazy. Like the schizophrenic kind. The "someone get a doctor because he's off his meds" kind.

Nope. This was real.

"Tom?" Jake nudged me. "You're staring."

Jake now looked at me like he thought I was about to break. Maybe, I was. I had done more screaming at the guards than crying, earlier, but in the beginning, in those first few weeks, I had cried a lot. Sure, I fought the slug in my head, or tried to, but when he left and the razor bladed monsters hauled me into the cage...

Yeah. I'd cried. A lot.

Now, I wanted to cry for another reason.

"Sorry. I just...I still can't believe you're doing this, Jake," I told him, wrapping my other arm around him, giving him a comforting squeeze. "You're just kids."

Even as Jake's body relaxed against me, his face took on a determined look. Usually, it was associated with beating me at a video game, or convincing Mom and Dad to let him do something. You know. Kid stuff. Or, at least, junior high stuff.

"Who else can fight them?" he asked, flat out.

"What about the military? The police? They can't all be infested," I offered, but knew it was in vain. If there was even one mole...I shook my head. More at myself than Jake. "Yeah. I know, Midget."

Jake gave a small nod. "You're free. Mom and Dad know. That's something."

I laughed, gave him a playful nudge. "You mean, you don't need to worry about getting grounded for breaking curfew?"

That got a grin. "Well, yeah. That's part of it."

Jake hid a yawn. Poor kid. He should have been asleep at least two hours ago.

Selfishly, I didn't want him to leave. I was afraid to sleep. Afraid of the familiar nightmares. I hadn't slept well since before I'd been captured.

"Midget? Can you do me another favor?" I asked, almost tentatively.

Another grin. "Saving you wasn't enough?"

I couldn't not smile at that. "I am so going to owe you for the rest of my life for this, huh?"

Jake shrugged, like going down to the Yeerk Pool and facing at least a hundred bladed Controllers was no big deal. "You are my brother, Tom. I couldn't not save you. Besides, you know..."

He trailed off, but I was pretty sure I knew what he wanted to say.

I love you.

"And, I guess, I'm not a horrible big brother?" I teased, giving him another nudge.

Jake smiled, tiredly. "You're definitely not horrible, Tom." Another yawn, which he didn't manage to hide. "What is it? The favor?"

"Um...stay with me? Just tonight, I mean. I-I mean, if you don't mind or anything. No biggie," I added, quickly.

I didn't want to sound like I was a kid in need of my favorite teddy bear.

If anything, Jake looked almost relieved. His face softened, anyway.

"Oh. Sure, no problem," he agreed.

He was already in his jammies, as was I, and the couch/bed already had two blankets ready, courtesy of Mom.

All that was left was for us to get under them and go to sleep.

Earlier, I would have been afraid that the couch would be kind of cramped, but once I'd attached the extra pieces, it was even larger then my old bed. Also, I noticed as I stretched myself out, it was considerably softer. Which, come to think of it, might not be great for my back in the long term, but, for now, that was the least of my worries.

Jake snuggled in next to me, and I wrapped both arms around him. I would have fallen asleep within minutes, but it became clear that Jake was uncomfortable. He kept moving around, trying to get at more of the blankets via his feet. Also, after a couple of minutes, I could hear his teeth chattering.

Right. The temperature. The basement was always a good ten degrees colder than the rest of the house, and probably fifteen or twenty at night. Something to do with the vents. Plus, we only had two blankets, and they weren't exactly heavy ones.

I realized that I wasn't exactly warm, either.

"Uh, Midget?" I began, as he shuffled around for the tenth time, no doubt trying to get warm.

"Sorry," he apologized, and in the dim light, I could see him looking up at me, probably red-faced.

"Hey," I began, "it's probably twenty degrees colder than upstairs."

"Probably," Jake agreed.

"So, I was thinking-"

"You want me to leave?" Jake blurted out, before I could finish.

He sounded...almost hurt.

I rolled my eyes, glad he couldn't see me. Glad I could do this on my own.

"No. I want you to head to my room and grab the blankets from my bed," I explained, gently. "Before you freeze to death."

"I'm not gonna freeze to death!" Jake protested, sounding like a kid again.

I was glad.

"Hey. I'm cold, too," I pointed out, diplomatically.

Okay, I wasn't scrambling around for warmth, but I was way less comfortable than I would have been upstairs.

In my old bed.

This seemed to change Jake's mind.

"Oh. Okay, sure. I'll be right back," he promised, getting up, and nearly kicking me in the process.

"Don't hurt yourself!" I warned.

"I know, I know!" Jake promised.

Probably with an eye roll of his own.

Around five or so minutes later, the light to the basement went on. A few seconds after that, Jake was back with all of my bedding, piled practically as high as his eyes. He placed the pile near the edge of my couch bed.

I grinned, getting up from under the blankets. "Ever hear of leaving some blankets for the rest of the family?"

"I did!" Jake protested. "I just grabbed everything on your bed, and a couple from your closet," he explained, almost sheepishly. "I figured, if it's too warm..."

I wrapped an arm around my kid brother. "We can remove what we don't need," I finished, with a laugh. "Cool. Now, Midget, scootch yourself under the covers. I'll make the bed."

Jake didn't need to be told twice. I heard him let out a sigh of relief/happiness as I applied the extra three blankets-plus a sheet that was probably buried under them-over his body, tucking them in on one side. Then, I moved myself under the covers and pulled Jake into a bear hug.

"How's that? You warm enough, or should I add more?" I asked, gently.

"No, I'm good," Jake agreed, now resting his head against my shoulder.

"Good. Because I don't want my kid brother freezing to death on my conscience, especially after he went to all of the work to save me from alien slugs," I answered, only half jokingly.

"Yep. That would be a tragedy," Jake deadpanned.

"You have no idea, Midget." At that, I tightened my hug on Jake, who let out another sigh. "Oh...too tight?"

"Nope, I can still breathe," Jake murmured, yawning, snuggling even closer to me before resting his head against my shoulder. "Night, Tom."

"Night, Midget," I answered, with a smile.

We lay there for awhile, not talking. I listened as Jake's breathing became lighter, which felt oddly calming. After a few minutes of that, I knew he'd fallen asleep.

I just hoped he wouldn't have any nightmares.

I knew that I probably would, but I was exhausted, and I couldn't put off falling asleep indefinitely. At least, bad dreams were nothing new to me.

To my surprise, when I woke up the next day, it was after an uninterrupted and dreamless sleep. I even felt refreshed. I expected to hear Temrash's mocking voice in my head, and after a moment of confusion at the lack of his voice, the memories came back, full force.

Then, my face form a huge grin when I remembered that I was free.

Free.

I glanced over at Jake, still fast asleep, looking no more than eleven years old.

He even looked peaceful.

I had no idea what time it was, but it had to be late. Well, late for a school day.

I hoped Mom and Dad would let Jake miss it today. Especially if they were "discovering" that I "hadn't come home" from that Sharing meeting. It would be consistent for them to let Jake stay home, under the circumstances.

I hoped.

Obviously, I didn't have to go to school, being almost unofficially dead, and officially in hiding. I'd keep up with my studies, because if the war was over in a matter of months, I really didn't want to go to summer school. That didn't mean I couldn't relax this morning, though. So, I just lay on the couch bed with a sleeping Jake for awhile, relaxing, still reveling in the fact that I could move any part of my body on my own. Almost as good, I could think about whatever I wanted without a Yeerk weighing in with his own thoughts, which usually involved how stupid I was.

Or, worse, punishing me by making me relive a bad memory. Sometimes, just because he could.

I reminded myself that my enslavement was over, now. Okay, maybe not so for thousands of others (I was reasonably sure it was only thousands and not millions), but I couldn't do anything about that. Maybe if I could morph, I could join the fight, but even though Jake and his friends could, they didn't have the technology to make more of them.

Still, there were other ways to help. The obvious one being there for Jake. Also, when he was ready, I would tell him whatever I could about the Yeerks.

Well, definitely not the finer details about my time as a Controller. He would blame himself for not figuring out earlier. Like there was any way he could have known.

He'd also have nightmares, and I knew that he'd have enough of those just fighting the Yeerks.

Jake finally stirred, then slowly opened his eyes.

"Tom?" he mumbled, turning his head towards me.

Like he wasn't sure why he was sleeping next to me.

I wondered what he remembered.

Well, only one way to find out.

"Hey, Midget," I answered, speaking more gently than I normally would upon seeing my kid brother sleeping. Before the Yeerks, I might have thrown a pillow at him if he was still asleep on a school day. "You remember yesterday?"

A flash of panic flashed through his face, followed by relief. "You're free."

"I'm free," I echoed, softly. Aware that he was still wrapped up in my arms, I gave him a slight squeeze. "You saved me, Jake."

Jake remained still in my arms, almost not reacting. Then, he swallowed, and hugged me hard. "I-it wasn't just me, Tom."

"Yeah. I promise to thank them the next time I see them. When they are down here, since..." I trailed off.

"I'm sorry, Tom. That you need to stay here. I didn't think...we didn't think...of what would happen next," Jake admitted.

"Midget," I told him, seriously, "I would seriously rather be in a maximum security cell forced to eat stale bread and contaminated water than be a Controller again. Hell, I would even rather live my life in a cage at the Yeerk Pool. This? Being with you and Mom and Dad? Being able to use my body again? It's not perfect, but I wouldn't go back for anything. Okay?" I finished.

Jake looked reassured. "Yeah. Okay."

"Anyway," I added, "what about you? Did you sleep okay?"

"Actually, yeah. Pretty much. I was kind of surprised, but I didn't have any nightmares last night." Jake sat up, leaning into me a little, so I wrapped an arm around his back. "Might have some later."

Probably.

"You know, Midget, that I am always here, if you need to talk. Especially now," I added, with a grin. I ran one hand over his back in small circles. "For any advice, or just support. Okay?"

Jake nodded, closed his eyes, and let out a long, almost shuddering, sigh. "Okay," he whispered.

I ran my other hand along his back, moving up along his shoulders. "How's this?" I asked, softly.

"It's great," Jake murmured, as his shoulders flopped forward.

I laughed a little. "Good. Hang on a second..."

I propped myself up against the back of the couch, keeping my hands working along his shoulder, then gently pulled Jake back a few inches. "Okay, that's better."

Jake didn't answer, just let himself slump forward again, and I briefly wondered if he was about to fall asleep.

Well, he probably needed the rest...

We were quiet for awhile, minus the sounds of breathing. Then, Jake took another deep breath and turned towards me, looking...worried.

"Tom, this is going to sound dumb, but..." He trailed off.

"You know you can talk to me about anything, Midget," I told him, gently. "I promise."

Jake nodded, and didn't turn away. "Okay. Um. When I told you I hadn't made the team...what did you think?"

I sighed. "I was beyond ticked-at the Yeerk," I added, quickly. "He was an insensitive little scumbag."

Jake smiled-faintly. "But, what would you have said?" Jake pressed.

I understood, then. He was worried I was disappointed in him. That he hadn't made the team, when I'd not only made it, but scored a position generally reserved for the highest performing-oldest-student athletes.

I knew that Jake didn't have my talent. We all knew it. But...few people did. It wasn't bragging, it was just a fact. Jake wasn't bad, but he wasn't amazing.

Really, though, he should have been good enough to at least make the team.

"I would have given you a hug and told you that you'd make it next time. That we could practice, if you wanted." I shrugged. "You're good at basketball, Jake. You were probably nervous, right? And it wasn't like we had practiced or even played together in months." I studied his expression. It seemed to be one of relief. "I am sorry, Jake. Even before I was infested, I kind of... I wasn't a great older brother. Too involved in The Sharing."

Well, that was part of it.

I wasn't necessarily opposed to telling him the other. It was embarrassing, but if anyone deserved to know, wasn't it Jake?

Hell, the slug had tormented me about it enough.

More than enough.

Jake sighed-it seemed to be one of relief.

"It's okay," he reassured me. "I mean...I know, now, that it wasn't you." After a minute, he added, "He didn't play you well. I mean, quitting the team?"

Yeah. That had been to hurt me. Probably, rash.

"Half of the people on the team are Controllers, and they all thought he was crazy for quitting. Not because Yeerks are basketball fans, but because it was so out of character." I managed a laugh. "Wonder if his next host will end up playing. He would be so ticked..."

Jake forced a smile. "Too bad we couldn't kill more of them."

"Next time. When Visser Three isn't there to morph some psycho alien," I promised. "Make my old slug a priority, okay? They're all awful, but he was a jerk in a class of his own."

"I'm sorry, Tom." Jake looked away from me.

His shoulders were shaking.

"Hey." I pulled him close, but gently. "None of this is your fault, okay?"

Jake nodded, then reached for me, wrapping his arms around my back. Of course, I squeezed back.

"I am so proud of you," I told him, once he let go. "I just wish I could do more to help you. I am here, whenever you want to talk. Or watch TV, or want help with your homework."

Jake grinned. "I still have to do homework?"

"Sorry. But Chapman is a Controller, so..."

As were some of the teachers at his school, I expected. Being in high school, though, I wouldn't know without being given names. And descriptions.

"Yeah, and that's crazy. My vice principal is a Controller!" Jake exclaimed. "And you, until yesterday. Tom, they could be anyone..."

"I know." Believe me, I knew. "Except for me, Mom, Dad, and your Animorph friends. Cool nickname, by the way."

"Marco's idea," Jake laughed. "But Visser Three seems to think we're Andalites. He called us Andalite Bandits, you know?"

"Like you're in a gang. Dealing drugs. Hell, even smoking!" I teased, running a hand over his hair, intentionally messing it up. In a mock serious voice, I added, "Never would have expected it of you, Midget."

"We're not doing drugs, Tom!" Jake protested, not managing to hide a grin.

"Yet," I teased. At his look of disbelief, I added, "Kidding. But it is cool that the scumbag slug thinks you're warriors."

I hoped so, anyway. Was it better to overestimate your opponents or underestimate them?

If they were just kids, it would be game over. But, I had seen them fight. Granted, I had been the only one to escape, but lots of Yeerks died that night.

Hosts, too, but...

Maybe, next time, they could blow up the Pool.

"You made him angry. You showed you were a threat," I added. "Not to mention, you all survived. It wasn't a bad first battle."

"No." Jake watched me. "It wasn't."

I put an arm around his shoulder again, and he leaned against me. We sat like that for awhile, until Mom and Dad came down.

After giving us each really long hugs, we sat down and discussed what would happen next. Jake, it was agreed, would miss school. Mom and Dad would report me missing. When the police discovered the "missing" car, everyone would declare that I had died.

It was strange, discussing my death like this. Unreal. But, really, what was the alternative?

As I expected, I could go upstairs to use the bathroom. Preferably just at night, but if I had to go...anyway, we had a small one without a shower on the first floor, for when nature called.

We all ate breakfast together. I rushed upstairs to brush my teeth. Now so wasn't the time for cavities.

Over the next few days, everyone slowly moved my stuff downstairs. Plus, even more sheets and blankets and, of course, pillows from my bed. I decided it would be more sanitary to cover the cushions of the couch with bed sheets before sleeping on them.

Jake stayed in his room after that first night, but he spent a lot of time in the basement with me. I kept up on class work, too.

I did end up having nightmares. Almost every night. I woke up screaming, but the basement was pretty soundproof with the door closed.

I was glad. I wasn't in any danger, unlike Jake. He had to save the world, at least until the Andalites returned.

I missed my old life, but maybe I would not have to stay in hiding for long. Maybe, the Andalites would be back soon.

At any rate, I had my body back and my family back. Jake would never be a Controller, thanks to my warning to Jake at the barbecue. I was safe.

For now, that had to be enough.

**Author's Note:**

> Even though it makes sense to put this story directly in with "The Escape", I'm making it a companion piece with the idea that this, and other possibly future works, basically make "The Escape" a series. Kind of. This will give me room to add other companion chapters without messing with the format.
> 
> Also, Tom just gave me the idea for this chapter yesterday. Blame him. Or don't, because he's cool. Otherwise, why would I write so many of his stories?


End file.
